24 January 1999

After a nights rest and some healing magick, the party descended two more levels only to see the rest of the Tower Gate’s floors gone and most of the other wall destroyed. The only method of descent was by a massive, metal chain fused to the ceiling above and stretching down to the Fallen City. During their long climb down a massive, fuscia dragon circled the tower, but did not approach. The chain “ladder” ended in the center of a hollowed and broken citadel. Several fresh and stripped corpses lay strewn about and a rough trail surrounded by thorny, poisonous, unkempt, purple hedges. The party travelled to the end of this trail only to come upon a the citadel’s gatehouse now the lair of a hobgoblin tribe. Unwilling to haggle with goblinfolk Raven unleashed a spray of fireballs in to the windows of the gatehouse, blowing it and its occupants up. Unfortunately the moat surrounding the citadel, was lit aflame by the burning debris of the gatehouse and the party quickly fled over the burning drawbridge.

The explosion of the gatehouse drew the attention of the Tribe of Three Red Cuts who controlled a villa further down the road the stretched from the gatehouse, the King’s Road. It also attacked the attention of a the dragon lord of this domain, a vile fuschia colored creature that breathed cold, so frigid it burned. The party excited to a nearby villa and let the Tribe of the Three Red Cuts kill the fleeing remnants of the hobgoblins, followed by the dragon wiping out the patrol from the Three Red Cuts.

17 January 1999

Upon the return of Merchant lords’ and ladies’ children, Jeiro started his investigation of Yashe the Necromancer and the Council of Mortal Magicks. He met with a spy from the League of Freedom, the psionicist Boromyr who works as a sweeper in Northreache’s Temple of the Great Mother. They discussed the Council and it’s corrupt leadership. He also directed Jero to the Historian the best sage on the Street of Wisdom. With the Historian’s jumbled help the group pieced together that Snaryn (the ghostly warrior in Mazcorkick’s chambers) had some centuries ago been in service of a previous King of Nornask as spymaster and had journeyed to the Fallen City. Some centuries later he had returned only to fall victim to Mazkorick of the Maze. In this way he failed his liege and let someone else usurp the throne. Deciding to investigate the Fallen City to uncover more of the mystery of Snaryn, to loot for magicks, and pursue rumors that Mazkorick had also journeyed there, the group set of to Nornask.

Moon of Zynar the Trickster

In Nornask the group stayed at the stylish Adventurer’s Club, an inn designated solely for those who follow the never ending road. Here they met Fathis “Fatty” the Bard who promised to chronicle their adventurers should they ever escape the Fallen City. They also questioned one Fangblood of the North, a barbarian of the Tribes of the Choas Barbarians. Fangblood challenged them to duel saying that no one could survive the rigors of the evil dwelling in the Fallen City. Matryx accepted and lost the duel, but Fangblood impressed with his pluck decided to lead the group to the Fallen City and enter it once more, if they helped hime search for his twin brother Grimtooth. While in Nornask they also recruited a halfling rogue named Crewel the Clumsy as their trapman and chestbreaker.

As the group travelled to the Fallen City they went through the Merchant Road Gap and then proceeded along an old highway through the Swamp of Desolation. Midway through their march they came upon a broken bridge with a large spider’s web stretched above it. Through the mists they could dimly see a humanoid shape struggling in the webbing. Stepping bravely to the rescue the group cut the bundle down with an arrow only see it fall in the swamp! As they rushed forward the group was engaged by a massive beast made of rotting vegetation and cursed bog water, as the rest of the group destroyed the plantbeast, Raven and Crewel rushed forward to save whomever was trapped in the web bundle. As they did so they were ambushed by a titanic arachnid that dropped from the mist shrouded branches above. Jeiro cleverly used a plant growth spell to shoot branches through the shambling mound of swamp weed, immobilizing it. The group destroyed the beast as Raven and Crewel dispatched the giant spider.

The party broke open the bundle only to find the fair elven Countess Mystril the Magess. She had been traveling with her bodyguard only to fall victim to the diabolical team of sentient plant and giant spider. With this new member in tow, the group travelled the rest of the way to the Fallen City.

After leaving the Swamp of Desolation the party came upon the Edge of the World, the border to the Realm of the Oceandrinker. Perched on the Falls of the World was a small temple of the Great Mother, its lay brothers and sisters cared for the cripples, cursed rejects, and mad men survivors of the Fallen City. They spoke with the head of the order, Sister Mercy who pleaded with them not go but reported that Mazkorick had indeed been spotted entering the Fallen City through the Tower Gate (so called since it is the only tower to break the Falls of the World, so that foolish adventurers can enter by it’s top most doors) not two days past. After a refreshing nights rest and the gift of healing potions the party broached the Tower Gate.

King’s Pardon Day (the Tower Gate)

The party entered by the Tower Gate progressing carefully down the cracked and torn levels of the Tower. On the first level (going down), they came upon a legless warrior who they dragged up to the Temple of the World Falls. They proceeded down three levels before coming upon a blocked stairway. The only way down though a large whole in the floor and all of the tower. Unable to contain is enthusiasm Matryx dropped to the grand, plush bed of the level below. He was unaffected by the sleeping curse of the bed but when followed by Sir Nagrom and Alvar these two instantly fell in a deep slumber. The rest of the party quickly tied off a rope and avoided the bed, but could not rouse their comrades. As they explored the room for clues to end the curse a huge spectral nanny appeared, apparently to tuck the party in...forever. Unable to contain their fear, Raven, Crewel and Matryx fled the room. The Countess stayed only to be slaughtered by the ghostly apparition. Upon regaining their composure, the three rushed back to save whom they could, only to find a sinister, winged lizard with emerald scales and a scorpion’s stinger, apparently trying to snack on their unfortunate fellows. Raven, Matryx and Crewel leapt bravely to the attack and slew the beast but, tragically, only after Crewel impaled himself on his own blade.

Mysteriously the curse was lifted and the intrepid party of Sir Nagrom the Just, the Huntpriest Jiero (and his hunting cat Painter), Raven, Matryx the Mighty, and Alvar Herrickson continued on, through another crack in the floor near the stairs. They entered a floor dedicated as a dark temple to the Oceandrinker—a light eating, midnight black sphere hovered above the altar. Careful not to disturb the sphere, the party took the stairs down another level to the fell priests’ chambers. They surprised one priest at his desk and an overzealous Nagrom tackled the man at his desk, break the dark acolyte’s spine with an armored tackle. The commotion alarmed his evil fellows who attacked the party with magick rods and priestly spells. Realizing they fought a losing battle, one of the fanatics fired fireball in the hall wiping out the priests and bad injuring the party. The group confiscated the magickal rods, but only Alvar could bear their evil taint...